Question:
Discuss about the Cross Cultural Management for Work Team.
Cross cultural management defines the management of work team, which incorporates varying culture, preferences and practices of international business context (DesAutels et al., 2015). The study will discuss the cultural differences to be faced by a business person of Nepal, while he will be communicating and negotiating effectively in the business culture of Saudi Arabia. Apart from that, the study will also discuss the challenges faced the business person in cross cultural communication. Furthermore, the study will also prove some suitable recommendation to the business person towards effectively communication and negotiating in the business culture of Saudi Arabia.
The key culture differences between Nepal and Saudi Arabia can be clearly identified through Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory and high and low context differences. This theory will explore the cultural differences between two countries which are most relevant for communication and negotiation.
Power distance index defines the extent to which less powerful employees of an organization accept or expect that organizational power is distributed unequally. While considering the business culture of Nepal, it can be found that the organization power in distributed equally among the organizational members. An equal distribution of organizational power can be seen among the organizational members of Nepal. On the other hand, Habbash and Habbash, (2016) opined that Saudi Arabia has high power distance index, where organizational power is unequally distributed among the organizational members. Low powerful organizational members are to accept the power of high powerful organizational members.
Individualism VS collectivism dimension defines the degree to which the organizational members are integrated in a group (Khakhar & Rammal, 2013). Individualistic society has loose ties, where the people are mostly prefer individualism manner. On the other hand, collectivist society has tightly integrated relationship among the people. According to Chibba, (2015), the organizations Nepal mostly follow collectivism cultural dimension. Moreover, the organizational members prefer to be in a group and their strength remains in group work. On the other hand, Salem, (2014) opined that the organizational in Saudi Arabia prefer individualist culture. In such culture, the organizational members mostly prefer to be in individualism manner. Therefore, group work is not much appreciated in the business culture of Saudi Arabia.
Uncertainty Avoidance Index dimension defined the degree of tolerance of the people in a society. Moreover, it assesses the degree to which the people in a particular society embrace or advert something that is unknown, unexpected or far away from the current status quo (Chibba, 2015). The organizations having high degree in this dimension opt for stiff code of behavior, guidelines, laws and absolute truth. On the other hand, organizations having low degree in this dimension are willing to accept innovative ideas, concepts and they are less imposed by stiff business guidelines. According to Shrestha, (2017), the organizations in Nepal are always willing to accept new business ideas and concepts for creating business innovation. Moreover, the organizational members are highly communicative with new people for having innovative business ideas. On the other hand, Jackson and Manderscheid, (2015) opined that the organizations of Saudi Arabia are having stiff code of rules and business guidelines. They are not open up to new business thoughts and the organizational members are not flexible in communicating with new people.
This dimension defines the preference of an organization towards achievement, heroism, material rewards and assertiveness. Organizations having masculinity culture have more preferences for modesty, quality of life and care for weak (Beugelsdijk et al., 2017). Women are not given much priority in such business culture. On the other hand, organizations having femininity culture are highly empathetic and have equal preference for both males and females. According to Poudel, (2017), the business culture in Nepal is highly feminine, where the female organizational members are given equal priority like their male counterparts. On the other hand, Welsh et al., (2014) opined that the business culture in Saudi Arabia is highly masculine, where female organizational members are not given much priority in business meetings and other business context.
This dimension explores the connection of past occurrence with the present and future actions. Organizations having low index in this dimension prefer traditional business concepts. However, organizations having high index in this dimension prefer adaption, circumstantial and adopt changes with dynamic business environment. According to Simkhada et al., (2013), the organizations in Nepal are highly adaptive and circumstantial. On the other hand, Khakhar and Rammal (2013) opined that organizations in Saudi Arabia are restricted to traditional business concepts.
According to Gautam, (2015), the people in Nepal are always restraint and they control their gratification of needs by strict social norms. On the other hand, Aldraehim et al., (2013) opined that the people of Saudi Arabia are highly indulgent and prefer to enjoy life with full of fun.
This dimension refers to the degree of direct and indirect communication a particular culture uses in their internal dialogue. According to Shrestha, (2017), the business culture in Saudi Arabia is having high degree in this dimension, where the speakers relies on the receivers to have certain degree of pre-existing knowledge about the discussed business topic. On the other hand, Jackson and Manderscheid, (2015) opined that business entrepreneurs of Nepal clearly transmit precise and transparent message in the business meetings and negotiation process.
The business person from Nepal can face huge problems in Saudi Arabia in regards to business communication. According to Simkhada et al., (2013), the main language of Nepal is Nepali, whereas, the main language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic. Therefore, the business person will face language issue in Saudi Arabia during the communication and negotiation process. On the other hand, Welsh et al., (2014) opined that the business entrepreneurs are highly assertive in their communication style. They mostly use high tone in their speech during business negotiation process. However, the business entrepreneurs of Nepal are not much accustomed with assertive tone in verbal communication. Therefore, the business person from Nepal can face high communication issue in business negotiation in Saudi Arabia.
The business person from Nepal can face huge challenge in terms of making decisions in business negotiation. According to Gautam, (2015), the business persons in Saudi Arabia are highly stiff to the traditional rules and business ideas. They are not much reliant upon new and innovative business decisions. On the other hand, Habbash and Habbash, (2016) opined that the business persons are highly inclined towards adapting innovative business decision towards getting business success in dynamic business environment. In such situation, the business person from Nepal may face issues in decision making during the negotiation process with the business persons of Saudi Arabia.
The business person from Nepal can face tough challenges in terms of conflicting attitude towards disclosure. According to Aldraehim et al., (2013), the business culture of Nepal is feminie, where the emotion of the people are considered oftentimes even in business negotiation. On the other hand, Salem, (2014) opined that the business culture of Saudi Arabia is highly masculine, where emotion is not considered during business negotiation process. They are only reliant on statistical fact for believing on the business process. Therefore, such strict mentality of the business person in Saudi Arabia may create problems for the business person from Nepal.
The business person from Nepal may face huge issues in building trust with the business persons of Saudi Arabia. According to Chibba, (2015), the business persons from Nepal are quite flexible in making good relationship with new people and adopting new business ideas. However, DesAutels et al., (2015) opined that the business persons of Saudi Arabia are not much communicative with the new people and reluctant to trust on new persons. In such situation, the business person from Nepal will face tough challenges in building trusting relationship with the business persons of Saudi Arabia. It will ultimately hamper the communication and business negotiation process of the business person in Saudi Arabia.
The business person from Nepal can also face tough challenges in completing the tasks during and after the negotiation process. According to Poudel, (2017), the business persons in Nepal are having low context in their business communication. Moreover, they communicate clear and precise information among all the organizational members, which speed up the competition of organizational tasks. On the other hand, Jackson and Manderscheid, (2015) opined that the business persons in Saudi Arabia are high context in business communication. Moreover, they share little information with the organizational information, which can mislead the actual business goals and delay the success of the negotiation process and ultimate business.
The business person from Nepal should enhance his cultural understanding regarding the people of Saudi Arabia. The business person should first learn Arabic language for effectively communicating with the business persons of Saudi Arabia. Apart from that, the business person should also be aware of the values and norms of the people in Saudi Arabia. It will also help the business person in understanding the non verbal communication of the business persons in Saudi Arabia.
It is suggested for the business person from Nepal to actively listen to the business persons of Saudi Arabia. In this way, the business person from Nepal will better understand the business perspectives and business terms of Saudi Arabia’s business persons. Active listening will help both parties in the negotiation process to come an agree point quickly for successful business negotiation.
From the cultural differences, it has been found that the business persons of Saudi Arabia are more reliant on statistical data of business rather than any emotional factor. Therefore, the business person from Nepal should always focus on the statistical data of business process during the negotiation process. It will help in developing high level of trust between both the parties.
During the negotiation process, the business person should demonstrate diplomatic attitude over any cultural clash. Moreover, cultural clash is more likely to happen in differing business culture, which can even lead to cultural conflict in the business communication and negotiation process. Therefore, the business person from Nepal should demonstrate diplomatic attitude in cultural conflict even show more respect to the culture of Saudi Arabia. It will minimize the chance of cultural clash and lead to successful business negotiation.
Conclusion
While concluding the study, it can be said that the business culture of Nepal prefer group work, whereas the business culture of Saudi Arabia prefer individualism. Furthermore, the business persons of Nepal are open up to new business ideas and concepts. However, the business persons of Saudi Arabia prefer traditional business ideas. Therefore, the business person from Nepal can face decision making problems in Saudi Arabia. The business persons of Saudi Arabia are not much reliant on new business persons. Therefore, the business persons from Nepal can face huge issues in terms of building trustable relationship with the business persons of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the business person from Nepal should enhance the cultural understanding about Saudi Arabia towards having effective business communication and negotiation.
References
Aldraehim, M., Edwards, S. L., Watson, J. A., & Chan, T. (2013). Cultural impact on e-service use in Saudi Arabia: the need for interaction with other humans. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science, 3(2).
Beugelsdijk, S., Kostova, T., & Roth, K. (2017). An overview of Hofstede-inspired country-level culture research in international business since 2006. Journal of International Business Studies, 48(1), 30-47.
Chibba, M. (2015). Contemporary perspectives on international business and culture. International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 14(4), 408-419.
DesAutels, P., Berthon, P., Caruana, A., & Pitt, L. F. (2015). The impact of country connectedness and cultural values on the equity of a country’s workforce: A cross-country investigation. Cross Cultural Management, 22(1), 2-20.
Gautam, D. K. (2015). Strategic Human Resource Development: Shifting Paradigm in Nepalese Listed Companies. SDMIMD Journal of Management, 6(2), 1-8.
Habbash, M., & Habbash, M. (2016). Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility disclosure: evidence from Saudi Arabia. Social Responsibility Journal, 12(4), 740-754.
Jackson, D., & Manderscheid, S. V. (2015). A phenomenological study of Western expatriates’ adjustment to Saudi Arabia. Human Resource Development International, 18(2), 131-152.
Khakhar, P., & Rammal, H. G. (2013). Culture and business networks: International business negotiations with Arab managers. International Business Review, 22(3), 578-590.
Poudel, J. (2017). Socio-Cultural Impact in Tourism: A Case Study of Sauraha, Nepal. Journal of Advanced Academic Research, 1(2), 47-55.
Salem, M. I. (2014). The role of business incubators in the economic development of Saudi Arabia. The International Business & Economics Research Journal (Online), 13(4), 853.
Shrestha, B. K. (2017). Religious Ethics and Socially Responsible Behaviors of Small Firms in Nepal. Journal of Religion and Business Ethics, 3(2), 5.
Simkhada, P. P., Shyangdan, D., van Teijlingen, E. R., Kadel, S., Stephen, J., & Gurung, T. (2013). Women’s knowledge of and attitude towards disability in rural Nepal. Disability and rehabilitation, 35(7), 606-613.
Welsh, D. H., Memili, E., Kaciak, E., & Al Sadoon, A. (2014). Saudi women entrepreneurs: A growing economic segment. Journal of Business Research, 67(5), 758-762.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download